For Old Time's Sake
by UnoriginalPrankster
Summary: While waiting for Jaune to show up, Pyrrha contemplates how she got back here. And where is tonight going to go? Arkos. Rated M for safety.


All characters are the property of Rooster Teeth.

* * *

The Silver Loungue was one of those new trendy cocktail bars were people who had money to burn went to spend their nights out, or at least part of it. The place was spacious, brightly lit, with a generous helping of chandeliers. The edges of the room had a smattering of private booths for the ultra exclusive types. The middle was lavishly adorned with couches, tables and chairs for any discerning patrons. One such table was occupied by what might be described as a walking miracle. Her sorbiquet was 'The Invincible Girl' Those in the know had a new title for her; 'The Girl Who Had Defied Death'. Pyrrha Nikos

She sat alone at the table, fiddling with the stirrer in her drink. Jaune had said he'd be here by 8 o'clock. It was twenty past now and still no sign of him. He had even requested that she wear her red dress from the ball back when they were still students. She thought he must have something special in mind given the nostalgia value, and that he would make an extra effort to show up on time.

 _Figures. Tardy to the last. Bet he's completely forgotten._

* * *

It had been a year since she'd been brought back. Even now she couldn't quite fathom just how Jaune had pulled it off, only that _complete insanity_ was an integral part of it. She knew it involved Jaune bluffing the cosmic forces that governed the universe, or maybe it was telling them to go blow themselves.

That was the overly simplified version of events; it had been 3 years since Ruby had seen Pyrrha reduced to ash by Cinder. With nothing left to lose, and in Jaune's mind nothing left to live for, what was left of JNPR had spent the intervening time training and upgrading their equipment, nothing but bloody minded revenge driving them onwards. A chance encounter with Neo had lead them to Emerald and Mercury. Having dispatched them, they successfully lured Cinder into a trap with the delivery of some Intel that she was apparently expecting from them, the three joining forces with RWBY to overwhelm the bitch that had taken Pyrrha from him.

And giving her a fitting punishment.

They had chosen the battleground in advance, an old temple thought to have been lost to history, back from the times when the Silver Eyes weren't a thing of legend. They, or rather Jaune, had heard tales of people, long in Remnant's past, of using such sites to commune with the spirits of their ancestors, and even taller tales of resurrecting the dead, for a price; usually the life of another or something of equal worth. It was a very long shot, but Jaune was desperate, and by then starting to go quite mad; ever since that day Ren and Nora would find him crying in his sleep, or running of into forests at night, screaming. He never laughed, never smiled. He had honestly tried to make it worth something and move on, even getting together with Ruby for a couple of months. But it didn't work; she could tell he was still pining for the girl he lost. Even Ruby couldn't cheer him up, and she ended it when it started to make her feel miserable too. He'd already decided that if this didn't work, he was ending it; he just couldn't take it anymore. After all, he had absolutely nothing to lose, and, flawed reasoning or not, he figured everyone else was probably better off without him.

The fight had been particularly brutal. Even after all the improvement Nora and Ren had made, and a completely berserk Jaune making a valiant attempt to tear her in half, Cinder still seemed set to prevail anyway, true to form. Thankfully, RWBY had caught on to what they were doing and arrived in time to turn the tide. Even Cinder couldn't handle 7 people helbent on butchering her. As Cinder had taken Pyrrha's life, Jaune had argued that her life was his price for bringing Pyrrha back, and...the powers that be actually listened!

On the verge of death, Cinder was immolated in a great pyre, the irony of which was not lost on the group, which served as the crucible to reform Pyrrha's body. It needed the focus and memories of the group to make it work, Ruby's memories of her death being the clincher. All of them got to experience that moment through Ruby's eyes. A transport managed to get them back to a forward command post while they arranged to transfer her to a proper medical facility.

* * *

It quickly beca!me apparent that the process wasn't perfect. While Pyrrha's soul was definitely in there, her body had little to no coordination, and she had to start again basically from scratch; her mind knew hjoiw, her body didn't. She had spent a long time in isolation in hospital, trying to relearn how to walk and talk, get her jumbled up memories straight, and getting some much needed help with remembering her burning to death. In the end, it was decided to just seal those memories away, with Pyrrha's complete consent. After all, why would you _want_ to remember something like that? She was able to remember that she had died and had come back, but not the exact circumstances. The seal came with a sort of instinctual response, that ran along the lines of _"You knew what happened at one point, but I am you, and please trust me when I say "You're better off not knowing"."_ It should come in handy should curiosity ever get the better of her.

It had proved therapeutic for Jaune too; all that time with such intense hatred, rage, sadness and pain festering in his mind had done some dangerous things to his pysche. It had even began to form a personality all of its own, and it proved to be the difference maker in killing Cinder; while he just attacked madly with little thought to tactics or strategy, his healing powers went into overdrive, meaning Cinder couldn't do much to even slow him down. Worse, while his longtime powers, which Cinder did know about, were tied to _life_ , hence his abilities to heal himself and his allies, his dark side gained the opposite, actively _devouring_ life and spreading malady; Cinder was shocked seeing her powers failing a rapid rate, and even more to see herself _rotting_ while still alive.

While it could only be expected that he take a sadistic pleasure in hurting her, perhaps as a symptom of his own now-unabashed self loathing, he also took a masochist pleasure in his own pain; he _loved_ it; he _enjoyed_ Cinder trying to burn him alive to no avail, he _laughed_ at the storm of arrows that pierced him head to toe while he brazenly walked through it, he howled in _glee_ while he closed his hands around her throat while she stabbed him repeatedly in desperation, he _savoured_ the sight of Blake, wielding Wilt as a little war trophy from when she had murdered Adam, slicing her arm off while Yang's clawed synthetic arm, made much the same way as Wilt to ignore Auras, rearranged her face. And the sensation of feeling her eye socket give way to a volley of rapid fire headbutts...to _die_ for.

And deep down he was disgusted with himself for feeling those things. Even Nora and Ren wouldn't look at him for weeks afterwards. His bloodlust, his desire to just hurt people, was palpable. Nora, once she started talking to him again, had admitted she'd never been so terrified in her life; the thing that her friend had become seemed to base its whole existence around pain. He had even turned on her when she tried to help him, screaming that she was "stealing his prey". Jaune knew he needed help fast before this...thing got out of hand and hurt someone he actually cared about. Some foreign meditative exercises Ren had introduced him to helped him understand and conquer some of his inner demons and regain some of his old self, but he was far from being the boy Pyrrha once knew. Even after all this time apart, she could sense the darkness in his soul. It could be years before he could say he was well again. The medics had offered him a chance to get some therapy, and Pyrrha had improved enough to convince him to say yes to the offer. Ultimately, he needed her to keep him on the straight and narrow as much as she needed him.

That changed when it was mutually decided they had to speak their minds while they both recovered from their respective ordeals; it was ckewarly eating away at the two of them. Jaune had totally let rip at her about her decision at the tower, asking if she'd even stopped to think what it might to do to those that cared for her the most, and that her sacrifice was ultimately for nothing; it did little to stem the tide of Grimm, and many cities were still lost, and maybe she should think twice before rushing to pull a stunt like that again. Naturally, a very heated argument broke out, Pyrrha taking to opportunity to berate Jaune for being so blind to her feelings for him, and for demeaning what she was trying to do that night; she was trying to protect people, trying to protect _him_. It had been the reason both of them had set along this path in the first place, a reason he seemed to have forgotten, completely self-absorbed as he was in his miser for all those years. Both accused the other, and deep down both knew the other was right, of being selfish; him just needing her to feed his own need for accpetance and love at the expense if everyone else, her for wanting, or maybe it was _needing_ , to be a martyr. It had very nearly ended in the two coming to blows and needing to be dragged apart by Nora, Ren and the staff. It was lucky for her it didn't; in her current state, Jaune would have won. The night hadn't been easy, but it did clear the air between them, and both agreed to start again with a clean slate once they'd both had a few hours to cool their jets and calm down. Or at least try a fresh start, in any case.

Neither was truly sure if they could really trust the other again after all those home truths, but you know how hard true friendship is to truly break. He was roped back into being her training partner, to help with her physio; she had learned how to walk again, but she made it know she wanted to try and be a Huntress again, and needed to get back in shape, so his familiarity with her made him an obvious choice. Before long, it was like they'd never been apart, the sessions near instantly taking the flavour of their days at the now demolished Beacon Academy. They had _their_ spot, a small grassy courtyard not far from Pyrrha's room filling in for the roof of old. It was during these times that the two finally found the guts to ignore their fears and let themselves take their bond to the next stage...

* * *

Her boyfriend... yes she could call Jaune that now they'd had time to repair and rebuild their relationship... had asked her if she wanted to join him for a drink; a little celebration for her after finally getting released from hospital, having satisfied the doctors that she was fit and had readjusted to the world of the living, and wasn't a danger to herself and others; nearly flattening everyone when she first came round, confused and panicked, and her semblance had gone haywire hadn't done her any favours. She'd sent a message to his scroll to confirm she was up for it. Nora and Ren wouldn't be joining them; it was for just the two of them. Or that was the idea. Right now it looked like just the one. She'd been stood up. And not for the first time.

 _(Sigh) Welcome to my second life. No different from the first._

The ambient music change tracks to an upbeat number as the beginnings of a commotion reached her ears, she glanced up, only to nearly spit out her drink. There, ahead of her, proud as punch, stood Jaune, in his white ball gown, a goofy grin plastered on his face, with a couple of bottles in his hand.

 _(Watcha_ _drinkin'? Rum or Whisky?_

 _Now won'tcha have a Double with me?)  
_

Jaune proceeded to her table, and gave a _which will it be?_ sort of look. Pyrrha giggled and pointed at the rum. Jaune poured her a healthy double, before helping himself to a double whisky. They chinked glasses and downed their drinks. Qrow had _politely_ made some enquiries and had Pyrrha's death struck from the record, so now she was technically old enough to drink. Still, this would be her first time touching the hard stuff.

 _(I'm sorry I'm a little late. I got your message by the way._

 _I'm calling in sick today. So let's go out for old time's sake.)_

She inwardly groaned; Jaune had clearly asked for this track just because the lyrics sort of matched what he was trying to do. He was definitely a fan of cheesey gestures; that _hadn't_ changed about him, even after all he'd been through. Or maybe he had just remembered the fact. He offered her his hand, an invitation to dance. She took it, being lead through the rather confused looking congregation. After making it to the dance floor in the centre of the room, he took her waist, she took his shoulder and began to sway. Her dance steps were still a little wooden, but Jaune was never the best dancer, so they could just look foolish together. Jaune took the lead. For old time's sake, he thought some of the moves from that night years ago would be a good start; Pyrrha should still remember those.

 _(I'll never forget you_  
 _They said we'd never make it_  
 _My sweet joy_  
 _Always remember me._

 _We were mischievous_  
 _And you were always wearing black_  
 _I was so serious_  
 _You know my boyfriend's mother nearly had a heart attack.)_

She caught on to what he was doing and followed suit. The arm movements, the spins, the steps, they were all second nature. It earned them a small captive audience, watching the synchronicity between the two. Maybe it just made them look better than they actually were. Satisfied that she's warmed up, Jaune had Pyrrha twirling..and squealing. He was showing much better coordination and control than she remembered him possessing. He pulled her back in and had her leaning over backwards, with him holding her by the small of her back. He'd _definitely_ improved.

 _(I'm sorry I'm a little late_  
 _You know the stripes on a tiger are hard to change_  
 _I know this w_ _orld feels like an empty stage_  
 _I wouldn't change a thing s_ _o glad you're back again.)_

Having righted her, he grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her in the air, much to her shock, and started spinning. Seeing that she wasn't in any real position to do anything about it, she just went with it and struck a pose. She'd get him back for that. Eventually he lowered her into a hug while still spinning, the centrifugal effect throwing her legs outwards. He began to slow down, letting her find her feet again. Pyrrha pouted at him for the unexpected lift. Jaune smiled nervously, then his face turned to mild horror as he found himself hanging in midair, and being spun around at high speed thanks to her semblance. Letting him down, he tottered for a moment for just giving up and falling on his ass. She smirked at him in payback.

"Serves you right for airlifting me without warning."

Now it was his turn to pout.

"Aww. You're no fun, Pyrrha."

"I'm sorry?"

"(Sigh) I apologise for trying to have fun with you."

"Much better." She helped him up, smiling.

 _(I'll never forget you_  
 _They said we'd never make it_  
 _My sweet joy_  
 _Always remember me._

 _I'll never forget you_  
 _At times we couldn't shake it_  
 _You're my joy_  
 _Always remember me.)_

* * *

Jaune had excused himself for a few minutes. Pyrrha busied herself checking her scroll for messages, but nothing had come through. She didn't expect any, but it didn't hurt to check in case Nora or Ren, or even the RWBY girls, wanted to get in touch. He returned more properly dressed in a suit and tie. He must have stashed it behind the bar. A few guests who'd seen the dress guessed it must have been some private joke between the two, and thought nothing more of it.

"Well?" He gestured to the air, "What do you think?"

"Hmmm, I think I preferred you in the dress if I'm completely honest." She smiled

"Funny. Well, let's be going." He thumbed towards the exit.

"Going? Where?"

"Well, the night's young, and what kind of guy would I be if I didn't take my best girl out for dinner?" Pyrrha's looked confused, "Don't worry, I booked a table. Sit down at nine."

"So, this is officially a date, then?"

"I guess so." He looked a little embarrassed, "I have...something else for you." Jaune reached back into his pocket, bulging pronouncedly, and pulled out Pyrrha's circlet.

"That's my old circlet. How did you find it?" He'd never revealed to her that it had been recovered from the tower top. "Wait, what are you doing?"

He placed it on her head, "Giving it back to its rightful owner. It was all we could find after you were gone, and on the darkest days, " he collected himself, "it was the only thing that kept me going. But you're back now. I don't need it anymore. I figured you'd want it back eventually." He offered his arm, "I'll get us a taxi. Shall we?" She looped her arm in his as he lead her out.

* * *

What Pyrrha's assumed was going to be a simple meal at some middle of the road eatery turned out to be at one of the most exclusive restaurants in town. Jaune must have payed through his nose to get a table at such short notice.

"Good evening sir. Do you have a reservation?" Asked the receptionist.

"Yes. Arc, nine o'clock, table for two."

"This way please." The maître d' led them to a table in a secluded corner. A waiter arrived to deposit some menus, "Would you like me to take your coats sir, madam?"

"Oh, yes. By all means" Pyrrha replied.

After he had seated Pyrrha, as was the gentlemanly thing to do, he took his own seat, "Would you like to order some wine sir?" The waiter enquired.

Jaune perused the wine menu, "Hmm...a bottle of this one please." He pointed to the most expensive bottle on the list, a vintage white.

"Very good sir. For two?"

"Yes please."

"Thank you. Madam?"

"Hello again."

"Do you have any identification?"

"What? Oh, yes I'm sorry. One moment please." She fished around in her handbag and produced a library card with her date of birth. She didn't yet have a driver's licence, and her Huntress ID would look a bit suspicious.

"Ah, my apologies madam. You just look young for your age."

"Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment." She blushed. Jaune smiled; she looked cute when she was flustered. She noticed this and smiled back. They just sat there, gazing, lost in each others eyes, the light from the flickering table candles adding their own bit of magic to the scene, their hands inevitably snaking together and squeezing. It was all _very_ romantic.

It wasn't long before the wine arrived. Jaune let Pyrrha have the first taste, to see if they were happy with the choice. She nodded. Jaune topped up her glass before helping himself to one. He sniffed the glass before taking a mouthful, breathing in with the wine in his mouth.

"Hey, check out the connoisseur." She chuckled, "Didn't know you took it so seriously."

"What? I enjoy good wine!" He tried to look indignant, "Philistine." He snorted

"Too refined for the hoi polloi, eh?" She teased.

"Whatwhatwhatwhat." Jaune mocked a posh accent, putting his pinkie to his lips.

The food was exceptional; Pyrrha had eaten at many fine restaurants over the years as part of sponsorship events and such like, but this was something else; maybe it was because this was _her_ night, she didn't have to be on her best behaviour, which always put her on edge. Tonight, she was totally chilled. She'd had a lot of wine, and was now feeling quite drunk. Jaune could handle his booze a little better (one of those rare things he was better than her at), but he was a bit blotto too. They weren't being loud enough to offend the other patrons, but definitely merry. Having finished the cheese and biscuits, Jaune summoned the waiter to settle the bill. Pyrrha got out her card to pay, but Jaune refused; it was his treat, so he was paying. The restaurant was kind enough to order a taxi to take them home while they were retrieving their coats.

"Thank you, Jaune. That was wonderful." She leaned in and kissed him.

"Hey, I promised I'd take you out for dinner. An Arc always keeps his promises."

As they were leaving, a group who were just arriving made a deliberate attempt to block them, "Well look who it is. Fancy seeing you of all people here. No phone call. No postcard. Nada. I was starting to think you'd forgotten all about me."

 _Oh god, not that retard Cardin..._ Sadly, Cardin and co. hadn't grown out of their frat boy phase it would seem. They hadn't crossed paths in years.

"Cardin, you have two options. You move yourself, or I move you. Capiche?" He wasn't in the mood for Cardin's crap anymore. Pyrrha could sense Jaune was hoping Cardin would choose the latter option.

"Oh, look who's grown a backbone. And you brought Cute Zombie Girl with you. I didn't know necrophilia was your thing JauAAAAARGH!"

Jaune had his hand around Cardin throat and hoisted him into the air with one hand, his other clenched in a fist, which he brought hard into Cardin's stomach. Time to make an example...

"One more word..."

 _Time to let the beast slip the leash a little. I normally wouldn't, but for him, I'll make an exception._

" **...and I END YOU!"** Cardin saw Jaune's eyes, the eyes of madness, and promptly soiled himself.

"Jaune! Enough! **"** She'd heard about it, but this was the first time Pyrrha had witnessed this side of Jaune in person. No one else in Cardin's entourage dared step forward; they could sense Jaune's Killing Intent...as could Pyrrha.

 **"You understand that, Shit For Brains?"**

"Y-y-yes!"

 **"Awesome."** he dropped Cardin and, dusting his hands, headed to the taxi rank. **"Have a nice night, weakling."**

They were a few yards from the taxi when Pyrrha sensed something and looked behind her, "Jaune! Behind you!"

He didn't need the warning; he could tell Cardin was coming. He ducked Cardin's haymaker, before letting fly with a straight punch of his own, catching Cardin flush in the face and sending him careening through the doors of the hotel across the street, to the sound of screaming and smashing masonry.

 _Alright. You've done enough damage._ The monster was wrestled back in its cage.

He ambled over to the taxi and opened the door for Pyrrha, who still looked quite scared of him _._

"Jaune!?"

He helped her inside, "Oh, stop worrying Pyrrha. He'll be fine."

He closed the door, a smile on his lips, "In a week or two."

Pyrrha finally relaxed and nodded off on Jaune's shoulder on the way back, which thankfully kept the cabbie from trying to make too much inane conversation. Perhaps he'd seen what happened to the poser at the restaurant and decided not to risk this guy's wrath.

* * *

The tipsy twosome staggered towards Jaune's bedroom door. For now, she'd be lodging with him, having not had the time to sort out a place to live for herself. He'd been out all day when they exchanged the messages, but she had no idea doing what, probably making arrangements for tonight if she were any judge. They were a couple, so it wasn't that weird for them to cohabit, but she thought it prudent to at least _try_ to get a place of her own for the time being. They both needed to have a little bit of space.

Jaune had spent a minute in the bathroom, using the mirror to help in his attempts to remove his tie. He returned to the bedroom to find Pyrrha's on the bed, looking morose.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Pyrrha got to her feet, "Jaune, I need to be sure. I need to know I'm really alive and not just experiencing some weird out of body thing before it all ends." She was struggling to hold herself together, "Please...be mine tonight."

"You mean?"

"Yes, make love to me."

Jaune didn't hesitate. He drew her in for a deep kiss, she responded in kind, before both fell onto Jaune's bed.

"Then...consider me yours."

Both were virgins, so the lovemaking wasn't the sort you'd get in your average porn movie. It was, all things considered, extremely awkward. It took a long time before both were comfortable enough to relax and begin to enjoy it. Even so, it was never going to have loud screaming and liberal use of expletives. It was more tender, more intimate...more _dignified._ Both of them preferred it that way. Much less embarrassing.

All in all, a wonderful end to a wonderful night.

* * *

Ren and Nora had returned from their night doing their own thing, which in this case involved staying in the local arcade till closing time. While they had their own place nowadays, they often spent the night here with Jaune, to the extent of even having their own keys to the place. Seeing that the lights were out, but displaying all the signs of someone being home, they sneaked up to Jaune's ajar door.

And they saw their two closest friends curled up naked in Jaune's bed, having clearly spent the night together. Jaune was Big Spoon.

Nora was struggling not to burst out in a fit of giggles, "I knew it. I knew it!" She hissed, nudging Ren in the ribs, "Didn't I say this would happen?"

"Yes. Well done. Have a Toffee Apple." Ren reached into his pocket and pulled out some money, which he deposited in Nora's outstretched hand.

"Well, the lovebirds clearly want time to themselves." Her voice took a conspiratorial turn, "It's time for Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren to coolly withdraw." She backed away from the door.

"You watch way too many cartoons Nora, you know that?"

"He he. Today, Vale. Tomorrow, ZA WARUDO!"

"Yeah, real cool Nora."

* * *

The sound of songbirds roused Jaune from his slumber. His brain fumbled for a moment before registering that he was cuddled up to someone else. He managed to open his eyes enough to see the long red hair splayed out on the pillow in front of him.

He craned over, to observe Pyrrha's sleeping form. She looked completely at peace, for once; she rarely got a good night's rest these days. He considered waking her, but decided to content himself with just watching her sleep, the gentle sound of her breathing, the steady rhythm of the rising and falling of her chest. She looked just beautiful. Jaune was completely captivated.

 _Her chest...I definitely got a good look at it last night...wow._ He smirked at the memory. _You always carried me. Now, it's time for me to do the same for you._

He stroked a few stray strands of hair out of her face. She turned onto her back and began to stir. Jaune took the opportunity to kiss her neck. She mewled a the gesture, and opened her eyes.

"Oh, good morning Jaune. Can I wake up to that every morning?"

"Hey." He bent down to kiss her again, "and yes, if you like."

She chuckled, "I would. Do you know what today is?"

"Hmm? Sunday, February the...fourteenth?"

"Uh hmm. And that is...?"

"Uh...Valent...ines day. Oh crap I completely forgot."

She rolled her eyes and facepalmed, "Why am I not suprised? Look, I know it's the day that men show their affection to their woman. And sometimes I really do feel like I wear the trousers in the household. So," She took his hand, her eyes pleading, "Jaune Arc...will you marry me?"

"Erm, Pyrrha, it isn't February 29th yet. That's the day the woman can propose to the man. You're not supposed to do that."

"Then...no?"

Jaune sighed, "Here, if we're going to do it, then let's do it properly. The traditional way" He cleared his throat, "Pyrrha Nikos, will _you_ marry _me_?"

"Yes, yes I will" she whispered, "Are you positive you want to marry me? I thought you'd be unsure, I mean it's only been..and you never...I'm sorry. I'm getting carried away again." Her face was reddening.

Her ramblings were silenced with a kiss, followed by what many call 'The Headbutt of Love'. "Yes, I would gladly marry you. I've never been surer of anything in my life, Pyrrha Nikos. I love you. We're a team, then, now, and forever." he turned to his bedside cabinet, opened the middle draw and pulled out a small box, which he opened, presenting a silver ring with a vibrant green gem, "Sorry it took so long, I just could never find the right time to say it. Looks like you beat to the punch yet again." She presented her own box, with a much simpler ring. They exchanged in silence.

"Just one thing Jaune..." Pyrrha looked him square in the eyes."...That thing I saw last night. Whatever that thing was when Cardin showed up. I _never_ want to see it again. Understood?" Jaune sighed, and nodded. He now had a really good reason for putting it out to pasture for good.

"Ahem."

The two turned to the door to see Nora and Ren propped up against the frame. Both pulled the bed covers over themselves reflexively.

"The raving loony get out again last night?" Ren asked

"How'd you guess?" Jaune muttered.

"Oh, the rumour mill. Cardin's reputation has gone literally down the toilet after that; you punched him through that hotel's toilet block. The damages are coming out of his pocket. You broke his legs too. Oh, nicely done by the way." He smirked.

"What? He'd soiled himself. I was being a Good Samaritan. Honest!"

"Well, you didn't hit any of us this time, so that's a bonus." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"So, when's the wedding?" Nora bounded in, grinning like an idiot.

"How much did you hear?" Asked Pyrrha, dismayed.

"Oh, all of it." Ren replied.

"Ah! Just wait till everyone finds out!" Nora bolted downstairs and out the door. Ren ambled at a sedate pace after her.

"Hey wait!" Jaune shouted. Neither had any clothes on, so it would be quite uncouth for their friends to see them as such. Sighing, Pyrrha grabbed a red vest and hot pants combo while Jaune made do with blue shorts. It wasn't ideal, but at least they weren't completely unpresentable when the rabble arrived.

The sound of rushing footsteps heralded the arrival of Team RWBY, who owned the house next door in their secluded little estate. Ruby, being the fastest, was already grinning at the door while the rest caught up.

"Oh, Hello again" she waved at the assembled crowd.

"So? Is it true? Are you two..."' Ruby was desperate for details.

"Yes, it is." Pyrrha flashed her finger, showing off her ring. The room erupted into cheers. Nora, Yang and Ruby were jumping up and down, Weiss was clapping, Ren and Blake just stood and smiled. Even Zwei was chasing his tail, barking.

Pyrrha turned back to Jaune, "Well, I guess we better start making plans for the wedding. I want it as soon as possible" Jaune raised an eyebrow. She gestured to the room in general, "Why wait? I've been waiting for most of my life. I'm done waiting."

"Well, we already have the best man, maid of honour and four of the guests..."

"ARF!"

"..five of the guests sorted out." Zwei looked smug, well as smug as a corgi can mange, "After what we've been through..." He cupped her face in his hands, "...a wedding should be a breeze, right?" Then another kiss.

"And then comes the difficuilt part; putting up with you for the rest of my life."

"Hey! Surely it can't be that bad?"

"No," she kissed him again, "no it isn't."

 _(I'll never forget you_  
 _They said we'd never make it_  
 _My sweet joy_  
 _Always remember me_

 _I'll never forget you_  
 _Although at times we couldn't shake it_  
 _You're my joy_  
 _Always remember me._

 _Don't you know that you're my joy?_  
 _Always remember me_  
 _Don't you know that you're my joy?_  
 _Always remember me.)_

A new day. A new beginning together.

And, inside Pyrrha, a new life.

* * *

Fin.

Song lyrics from 'Never Forget You' by The Noisettes.

Will she be back in canon? My gut says yes, but if it does, it won't happen for years; I really don't believe they'll deviate from the plan as far as Monty got to write it, for better or worse, so unless he got to write it in and the rest of the team are justifiably keeping mum, it'll be vol. 6, when they start writing blind, before the idea even becomes a prospect, which could be maybe 3 years from now should the series continue that long if the past release schedule is anything to go by. Besides, it's about time something _nice_ happened to the two of them (for once; the chew toy act is getting kind of old now)...

If it doesn't happen, can you really see Jaune getting over it anytime soon? At present, I can't. It may be the kindest thing to kill him off too, for himself and to avoid the chance of Arkos shippers shouting Replacement Scrappy at whoever he may end up with instead (and to avoid allegations of canon Die For Our Ship, if anyone at RT does even have a preference). I'd say Ruby's the frontrunner. Maybe if they hadn't made Pyrrha too strong and Jaune too weak it might be a more believable outcome.

Thus end the ramblings of a complete loony.


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